Newsletter

RFID Headlines

The medical sector has always been a sweet spot for RFID. Some day, the use of RFID in medical could be far more significant than in retail. Although retailers have benefited greatly from higher inventory accuracy and consumer engagement enabled by RFID, medical use cases could save lives. Researchers at Cornell University, for example, recently [...]

Delta Air Lines evidently has additional plans for RFID technology. Delta, the Delta Air Lines Foundation and the Jacobson Family Foundation granted $6.2 million to support multiple programs at Auburn University, including the school’s RFID Lab. Auburn is the leading academic institution for RFID technology, conducting research on how specialized sensor technologies can have an [...]

Spanish fashion retailer Misako is deploying RFID technology at more than 200 of its stores and a distribution center in Europe. By using Nedap’s !D cloud RFID software, Misako hopes to raise its inventory accuracy to over 98 percent. The retailer has identified having full transparency of its store stock levels as an essential part [...]

Airbus has become the first commercial aircraft manufacturer to deploy RFID part-marking to aircraft components on all its aircraft families. This year RFID is being rolled out to all seats and life vests for the A320, A330 and A380 aircraft families.

Airbus will attach RFID tags to every seat and life vest on all of its planes in 2013.

Airbus expects to tag 160,000 pieces, including 120,000 life vests and 40,000 seats. The tagging initiative complements the existing RFID part marking program on the A350 XWB.

Airbus expects increased value-chain visibility, error-proof identification and efficiency savings in component lifecycle management. Life vests and seats carry expiration dates and must be checked periodically. In the past this required a time consuming manual inspection that left room for error because of the manual data collection process. With RFID, life vests can be inspected by walking through the aircraft cabin with a handheld reader.

The process automatically confirms the presence of each required item, verifies its location and looks up associated data about the part, such as maintenance history and product expiration dates. This information can then be used to determine the aircraft configuration and prioritize maintenance planning for items due for inspection, overhaul or replacement.

“Permanent RFID part marking is an answer to the growing need for efficient and error-proof identification of aircraft components throughout their life,” says Tom Williams, executive vice president, programs, at Airbus. “The use of RFID part marking will enable the automation of multiple operational processes and is a benefit for all involved in managing the component during its lifecycle: vendor, integrator, airline and MRO.”